Breaking News - China: One-child policy is here to stay

[NewsCaster]

Alexander F. Yuan/APParents play with their children at a kid's play area in a shopping mall in Beijing on Jan. 10. By Le Li and Alastair Jamieson, NBC NewsBEIJING -- China has quelled speculation its controversial "one-child" policy is to be scrapped, instead announcing Wednesday that family planning laws to curb the birth rate will remain.

“The policy should be a long-term one and its primary goal is to keep a low birthrate,” Wang Xia, minister in charge of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said.

The pronouncement comes after months of speculation that the decades-old restriction would be abandoned.

NBCNews